Lawyer slips in vegetable section, sues Woolworths Australia for $1.3 million

Olga Day claims she was distracted when she slipped on a shallot. Photo / Ipswich Advertiser

A lawyer suing Woolworths for $1.3 million after allegedly slipping on a shallot has been banned from contacting insurers who complained of harassment.

Ipswich mother Olga Day was the target of what a judge dubbed an "unusual application" after claims the Zurich insurance firm was menaced and its staff threatened, The Ipswich Advertiser reports.

Previously, Day said she did not see the shallot in time because she was distracted when an in-store demonstrator promoted a constipation aid.

Day, who qualified as a lawyer in her native Russia, said she suffered personal injuries after the shallot incident in 2014.

Lawyers for two product demonstration companies claimed Ms Day, through her husband, tried to intimidate and harass their insurer.

Retail Activation and CPM Australia alleged Zurich staff faced a cavalcade of threats.

The companies told Justice James Douglas that Day's husband accused Zurich directors "of misusing shareholders' funds" by encouraging lawyers to "drag" her claim through the courts.

Justice Douglas, of Brisbane Supreme Court, was told Day and her husband threatened to contact media to disclose "appalling practices".

And the couple allegedly accused two lawyers of "corrupt conduct".

The companies alleged Day was acting in ways solicitors could not, such as by contacting an opposing client directly instead of through lawyers.

Day told Justice Douglas she had realistic chances of success in proving allegations of professional misconduct, breach of directors' duties and corrupt conduct.

Justice Douglas said Day had nearly finished a law degree, had worked for a law firm, and been involved in litigation several times before.

He said public interest in the right of free speech meant he was worried about granting the injunction the companies wanted.

But Justice Douglas agreed to ban Day from direct contact with Zurich, and must go through the insurers' lawyers.

" ... If there are legitimate complaints to be made about the solicitors' conduct or Zurich's conduct, then there are other possible avenues open to Ms Day," Justice Douglas said.